And learning to do magic? Way funner than having a runny nose.

A black teen whose family just moved to whitebread Dubuque, Kelley "catches" magic by reading aloud from a small leatherbound book she finds in a quirky used book store. She also blows up the family home in the process.

At the same time, a homeless man named Archie -- a senile, recovering Sorcerer from decades past -- uses magic on Kelley's delinquent twin brother Kurtis.

Bam. Kurtis gets infected.

And after Kelley, Kurtis, and two of their friends all catch the magic virus, they quickly earn the attention of one Dr. Michael Azure -- a 950-year-old Sorcerer who has spent the past few centuries protecting the world against what he calls renegade magic-users.

Azure and his NFL-lineman-sized henchmen want to erase Kelley and Kurtis from existence, and they don't care if they destroy Dubuque in the process.

Just when Kelley starts to like it there, too.

A SUDDEN OUTBREAK OF MAGIC is a 70,000-word YA fantasy novel by Michael Jasper. Read an excerpt online.

"While this world may seem darker and more dystopian by the day, avid, talented newcomers like Jasper help us keep the faith." — Faren Miller, Locus

"Mike Jasper brings the common touch to the most uncommon situations. Welcome to his world." — Nebula-winning author John Kessel

"Michael Jasper is a writer of great integrity, passion, and imagination. He creates imaginary characters who feel realer than some people I've actually met." — Tim Pratt, author of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, Poison Sleep, and Spell Games